Ella and the Beast (More Than Human Book 1) (25 page)

She was working him into a hard, throbbing mass of need. He hissed when he felt her nip the inside of his thigh. The woman was playing with fire, she just didn’t realize it was hot enough to challenge the sun at the moment. Her lips moved up the length of his shaft. She as she stroked him. Ty rose up onto his elbows so he could watch her.

He focused on her face, watching her expression as she rose up high enough to slide her mouth over the head of his cock. With each delicious stroke, he felt a wave of intense pleasure cut through him, leaving a trail of fire. The muscles in his arms bulged as he gripped the sheets to keep from stopping her. It felt so damn good, it hurt.

Her mouth slid further over him before she pulled back. He wanted to wrap his hands in her hair to prevent her from letting him go, but he didn’t. Instead, he imagined his hands tangled in the silky strands as he pressed her mouth down further over his cock until she swallowed the entire length.

She continued to stroke him with her tongue, sucking on him and taking more and more of his throbbing flesh into her mouth. A shudder went through him and he knew if she didn’t stop, he would cum down her throat.

Reaching out with shaking hands, he touched her face. It was her turn for pleasure. He wanted to show her how much he loved her. He needed to show her how much he cherished her strength, her intelligence, and the natural beauty of her spirit.

He sat up and pulled her to her feet. Ty captured her lips. He tenderly lifted her and twisted on the bed. Gently lowering her back against the turned down sheets, he slid his hands up along her body until he could cup her breasts. He reluctantly released her swollen lips to stare down at her.

“Will you marry me?” Ty asked in a husky voice. “Tomorrow. Please, Ella, say you will be my wife.”

Ella stared up at him in stunned disbelief before she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his in a kiss that said more than any words could. Ty groaned when he felt her response. There was no hesitation in her kiss.

“Yes,” she finally replied, breathless as she stared up at him. “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!”

Ty grinned. “I’ll take that as an acceptance,” he laughed in joy before the smile died. “Forever, Ella. You are mine forever, just as I am yours.”

“Just as you are mine,” Ella repeated.

Ty wouldn’t have believed it possible for the fire in him to burn any hotter than it had already, but it did. Pushing Ella’s legs apart, he gripped her hips and held her steady as he aligned his cock with her. A shudder ran through him when the bulbous head of his cock, almost blue with need and ultra sensitive from her lips, connected with her heated channel.

“Oh, Ella,” Ty groaned as he pressed forward.

Ella pressed her lips against his collarbone. He felt the tip of her tongue making a swirling motion against his skin. It felt like each movement was connected to his nerve endings. His cock pulsed, pressing up against her slick channel. He could feel it swell as he imagined her mouth around him once again.

“I’m not going to last long if you keep gripping me like this,” he muttered in a desperate voice.

“We have all night,” Ella reminded him.

Ty gritted his teeth. He wouldn’t cum until she did. Moving his hips, he began stroking her until he could feel her slick desire coating the inside of her thighs. With a grunt, he pulled out and rolled onto his back.

“Get on top of me,” he demanded in a thick voice.

Ella rolled and straddled him. She braced her hands on his chest as she rose up high enough to position him before impaling herself on his engorged cock. Ty hissed when she came down hard on him. She didn’t do it slowly like she had in the past. This time, she took him as wildly as he wanted to take her.

Reaching up, he cupped her breasts as she began riding him. When he pinched her nipples hard between his finger and his thumb, she went wild on him. He lifted his hips at the same time as she descended. Their bodies collided, locking them together as they both came at the same time. Her head fell back as her body shook with her orgasm. His body pressed upward, filling her with his seed and rejoicing in the connection between them.

“You’re mine, Ella, forever,” Ty whispered, pulling her down and wrapping his arms around her when her body melted against his. “Forever.”

*.*.*

Later that night, Ella rolled onto her side. She was tucked up against Ty’s side. She stared out of the window. Through a crack in the blinds, she could see a glimpse of the night sky. The faint glow of lights from all the cars and vans appeared to have been turned off. She imagined that they were too tired and cold to stand around and take pictures of the house only. Tomorrow would be a completely different beast to deal with, though.

“What’s wrong?” Ty murmured, turning his head to stare down at her.

“Nothing,” Ella replied with a contented sigh. “I was just thinking that all your news people must be tired, cold, and bored right now.”

A chuckle escaped Ty. “I imagine you’re right,” he said, turning to stare at the same spot between the curtains.

“Do you really think everything will be alright, Ty?” Ella asked as she curled her fingers against his bare chest. “I’m worried about what kind of life our child will have and what will happen to my people.”

“Whatever happens, we’ll face it together,” Ty answered in a husky voice. “This really intelligent woman I know once told me that none of us can change the past, but we can change the future.”

“Your mom,” Ella said, looking up at him. “She told me the same thing.”

“Believe her, Ella, and believe in us. As long as we are together, we can accomplish anything we want or give it a hell of a good try,” Ty murmured. “We can create a new world where humans and shifters once again live side by side in peace.”

“My father once said that day would come,” Ella admitted with a sigh and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. “It won’t be easy.”

“The good things never are,” Ty said, slowly rolling until he was lying over her again. “Now, I believe I heard this other really beautiful, intelligent woman inform me that we had all night long. It’s still dark out,” he observed.

“You are so bad,” Ella laughed when he began nuzzling her neck. “You also need to shave. I am going to have red marks all over my neck.”

“I seem to remember warning you that once I had you alone that I was going to love you so thoroughly that you’d think I was pretty amazing.”

“You always were, Ty, from the moment you jumped into the pit,” Ella whispered, framing his face. “You are my wonderful, amazing beast.”

Ella captured his lips. Tomorrow would come soon enough. For now, it was their time to be alone. She would face the future with her head held high and Ty by her side.

“I just wanted to wish you and Ella much happiness,” Michaela said early the next morning in a video call.

“Thank you, Michaela,” Ty replied, fighting to straighten his tie before he released a curse and tossed it to the side.

“How is Ella doing? Better than you, I hope,” Michaela chuckled.

Ty glanced over his shoulder before returning his gaze to the computer screen. “I’m not sure,” he admitted with a rueful grin. “Tracy, Rhyanna, and my mom have had her locked in the guest bedroom all morning.”

“I think this is a smart move, Ty. It will bind her to you legally,” Michaela replied in a somber tone. “I have to say her presence has caused quite a commotion here at the capitol.”

“She is mine, Auntie. I won’t let anyone take her away from me. She carries our cub,” Ty said, sliding into his desk chair.

“I know. I received the briefing,” Michaela replied. “Congratulations on that as well.”

In the background, the sound of loud voices could be heard. Ty grimaced. The media had decided to make a coordinated attack on the house this morning. Every once in a while, one of the mangy shifters actually made it through the private, local, and federal officers protecting the house.

“Things will calm down in a few weeks,” Michaela informed him with a sigh. “Sooner if some other new media sensation pops up.”

“I know. I just worry about Ella,” Ty replied, glancing out the window.

“Ty! Did you see those beasts? They were like the man that attacked you and they were chasing this little skinny one,” Ella said in excitement, hurrying into the room.

“Ella! He isn’t supposed to see you yet!” Tracy exclaimed in amusement as she, Rhyanna, and his mom hurried in after his excited mate.

“Yes, I saw… Holy Goddess of Grizzlies!” Ty said hoarsely, staring at Ella.

His gaze ran over her flushed, rosy cheeks. His mom was trying to pin one last miniature red carnation in the braid that circled Ella’s head. Shimmering droplets of white pearls hung from her ears. The wedding dress she was wearing had belonged to his mother. He remembered seeing it in one of the portraits of his parents that hung in the downstairs library.

The strapless dress was red with a shimmering swirl of white running through it. Thousands of tiny pearls and glittering crystals adorned the dress; capturing the light and making Ella appear to glow. Around her neck, she wore a necklace of a double strand of pearls with tiny diamonds hanging like teardrops from it.

The dress hugged Ella’s figure, showing off the creamy mounds of her breasts and cinching at the waist before flaring outward to trail behind her. A smile curved his lips when he noticed her brightly painted red toenails peeking out from under it as she held up one side and looked out the window. She was barefoot.

“Ty, close your eyes!” Rhyanna snapped in a playful tone. “Ella, you forgot your shoes.”

“My… Oh, thank you,” Ella replied, distracted as she turned to get her first good look at Ty. “You look….”

“Beautiful…”

“So handsome…”

They both whispered at the same time. Ty mumbled something to Michaela, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember what it was. All he knew was that his aunt was no longer on the computer monitor. He swallowed, unable to tear away his gaze from Ella, even when Van and Peterson walked into the room.

“It’s time,” Van announced before he released a whistle when he saw Ella.

“Wow!” Peterson agreed, staring at Ella in stunned surprise. “I mean, you were always kind of cute in a human way, but… Wow!”

“Shut up, Peterson,” Tracy retorted with a roll of her eyes. “Get Ty out of here and downstairs. Oh, and tell Dad that we’re ready for him as well.”

“He’s already waiting at the bottom of the stairs,” Van muttered, walking over and grabbing Ty by the arm when his friend didn’t move. “Come on, man. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner you can get her out of that dress.”

“Geez! Don’t you guys think of anything else?” Tracy muttered.

“No,” all three men replied before turning slightly red when Lena raised an eyebrow at them.

“Uh, right,” Peterson said, grabbing Ty’s other arm. “Let’s go.”

Ty shook off both men’s hands and walked over to where Ella was standing. He raised a trembling hand and ran it tenderly down her cheek. A soft smile curved his lips.

“You are the most beautiful woman in the world to me, Ella,” Ty murmured in a quiet voice. “I’m one lucky shifter.”

“That’s what your mother, sister, and Rhyanna said, too,” she replied, looking up at him with a glowing smile.

Laughter filled the room. Ty chuckled and bent to brush a swift, passionate kiss against her lips. He pulled back, and his eyes twinkled with delight when she rose up for more.

“I’ll see you downstairs, Mrs. Bearclaw,” he whispered. He stepped back and turned to the others in the room “Let’s go make this official.”

“About damn time,” Van muttered good-naturedly.

Peterson slapped him on the shoulder. “I never thought I’d see this day, Ty. Congratulations.”

Ty nodded, glancing over his shoulder one last time before he drew in a deep breath and strode out of their living quarters. He vaguely listened as Van and Peterson teased him, but he honestly couldn’t have repeated a damned thing they said.

At the bottom of the stairs, he saw his father patiently waiting to escort Ella. For a brief second, Ty’s gaze locked with his dad’s. In his father’s eyes, Ty saw pride and happiness for the small cub that had grown into a man. A shiver of awareness ran through Ty when he realized that one day, it was quite possible that he would be standing in that same exact place, waiting for his son or daughter to come down the stairs. Just the thought of that day caused his own throat to close with emotion.

“I’m proud of you, Ty,” Art said, stepping forward and placing a matching red carnation in Ty’s lapel.

Ty drew in a shaky breath and glanced at where Van and Peterson had stepped aside to give father and son some privacy. The two men were talking in a low voice. He could see them glance in the other room where Martha fussed over a flower arrangement. To one side, Ben stood waiting as well, talking to the judge who was a friend of the family and would be sealing their commitment.

“What if I can’t keep her safe, Dad? What if I can’t make her happy?” Ty muttered in a hoarse voice, briefly glancing at his father before looking away.

“I had the same fears about your mother, Ty,” Art admitted in a gruff tone. “It’s natural.”

Ty looked back at his dad. “What did you do?” He asked.

“I saw her and knew that I had nothing to fear. She’s my world, just as Ella is yours, but even a rose has its thorns, Ty, but that doesn’t make it any less beautiful,” Art explained, resting his hand on Ty’s shoulder. “They are there for a reason. Someone who loves them knows how to hold them without getting hurt. Ella is a fighter. She will stand proudly beside you. She has the heart of a grizzly. Love her each day like there is no tomorrow and you will find that all the rest will take care of itself.”

Ty swallowed and nodded. “Thank you,” Ty murmured, drawing in another deep breath.

“Any time, son. Any time,” Art replied, turning to look up the stairs. “Go in the other room. I’ll bring your mate to you.”

Ty nodded again. He stepped into the small den. Turning, he waited. Early this morning, he had held Ella in his arms and quietly described their marriage ritual to her. She had listened carefully. They would make one addition to it – a human tradition from her clan.

“Ty,” Ben murmured under his breath, staring at the doorway. “You are one, lucky grizzly bear.”

Ty’s gaze locked on the doorway. Rhyanna, his mother and sister parted and walked over to stand next to where Martha was standing, tearfully sniffing into a tissue. His throat tightened. While he had seen Ella upstairs, it still hadn’t prepared him to see her standing in the doorway with her hand on his father’s arm. He watched as his father slowly escorted Ella to him.

“Ella, do you accept my son for all time as your mate?” Art murmured in a clear, but somber voice.

“I do,” Ella whispered.

“Ty, Ella has accepted you. Do you accept her for all time as your mate?” Art asked, turning to his son.

“I do,” Ty replied, taking Ella’s hands in his.

“Let this union be legally acknowledged between Ty and Ella Bearclaw,” Art stated, turning to the judge.

The judge waited as Ty and Ella turned to him. He stared in fascination at Ella before he cleared his throat and began reading the law that sealed the bond between a shifter and his mate. He stumbled for a moment when he glanced at Ella and changed shifter to human.

“In accordance with the law, I recognize the legal standing of this union. Is there anything else you wish to add?” The judge finished.

“Yes,” Ella murmured, turning to Rhyanna. “Thank you.”

Ty watched as Ella tenderly pushed back the sleeve of his jacket and shirt to bare his wrist. She carefully placed a leather band around his wrist, tying it so that it wouldn’t come loose. When she was finished, she reached for a second one. This one was smaller than the first. She held the matching bracelet to Ty.

“I give you this as a sign of my commitment to you. We are bound by the laws of life. Together we will forge a new one. I stand as your partner to love and protect you. I love you, Ty Bearclaw,” Ella said in a clear voice, lifting her chin and staring up at him with wide, shimmering eyes filled with emotion.

“I give you this as a sign of my commitment to you, Ella,” Ty repeated, his deep, rich voice clear and strong. “We are bound by the laws of life. Together we will forge a new one. I stand as your partner to love and protect you. I not only love you, Ella Bearclaw, but I adore the hell out of you.”

“This is the part where we kiss,” Ella whispered, leaning closer to him.

“I know,” Ty chuckled, wrapping his arms around her and lifting her off the floor as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I can’t wait until we get to the part where I take this damned dress off you. It is driving me insane.”

Laughter filled the room, surrounding them as they sealed their lips in a kiss filled with joy. Ty held Ella tightly in his arms, unwilling to release her even when he felt Ben clear his throat and tap on his shoulder. It was several more seconds before he reluctantly drew back.

“Well, I thought they’d never come up for air,” Martha muttered. “I have a cake in the dining room. Whatever is left, we can throw at those damn nosy newsmen.”

“I swear I want to steal this woman from you, Art,” Judge Woolman chuckled.

“Not a chance in hell,” Art replied.

Ty slowly lowered Ella to the floor, holding her close as Rhyanna, Martha, Tracy, and his mother came over to talk to her. Their wedding had been small, but for him, it had been perfect. He nodded when Judge Woolman motioned for him to sign the documents that made their union official. Ella slowly signed her name on the line next to his.

“My life has changed so much,” Ella murmured, her hand trembling as she handed the pen to the older man standing next to them.

“You don’t regret it, do you?” Ty asked in concern.

Ella glanced up at him with eyes filled with tenderness and shook her head. “No.”

“Ella, come look at this! The Secret Service is chasing another weasel!” Tracy laughed, staring out of the front window.

“Oh, I want to see!” Ella laughed, turning and hurrying toward the window. “Oh, my goodness! He’s a fast one!”

“I thought you guys had security set up,” Ty growled at Van and Peterson. Both men had white frosting around their mouths and on their fingers. “Shouldn’t you be out there monitoring it?”

“No,” both men mumbled, each giving Ty a sugary grin.

“Ella was having too much fun watching the local and federal guys run around after them. We thought we’d give her some entertainment,” Peterson explained with a wink.

“Yeah,” Van agreed. “We made sure no one can get in the house.”

“You two are idiots,” Ty muttered with a shake of his head. “How does Tracy put up with you?”

“For a fee,” both men laughed.

*.*.*

The smile on Ella’s face slowly faded as she stared outside. Snow had begun to fall again. Her gaze turned upward and she watched as it fell. She couldn’t help but wonder how bad it was in the mountains.

“What’s wrong?” Tracy asked, touching her arm.

Ella turned her face to Tracy for a brief second before she shook her head. Releasing a long breath, she returned her gaze to the sky. She bit her lip before she spoke.

“I was thinking of my people,” Ella finally admitted in a barely audible voice. “The winter has come early this year and I worry about them. I feel guilty about being warm and fed when I know they are struggling.”

“Do you know where they are?” Tracy asked, stepping closer.

“Yes,” Ella whispered.

Tracy glanced behind her before she gently turned Ella to face her. Ella saw the intense expression in Tracy’s eyes. She blinked when she saw the other woman’s lips tightened in determination.